FARNBOROUGH, England, July 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) achieved an important first milestone in support of its Patriot United Arab Emirates (UAE) program.

The company completed the upgrade of a Patriot radar, on loan from the U.S. Army, to the latest configuration (Configuration-3) and now has the necessary support system in place to begin the design verification and validation testing for the UAE's Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems.

"This is an important milestone for the UAE program. It's one shared by our 12 current Patriot partner nations and future partners as we manufacture new Patriot systems again," said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Patriot Programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). "With more than 180 Patriot systems around the world, the ability to upgrade and build new systems is a critical factor in maintaining the combat-proven Patriot as the air and missile defense system of choice."

Raytheon IDS is the prime contractor for both domestic and international Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems and system integrator for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles.

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

www.raytheon.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company